By Pramod Thomas
AN APP offering information about access at venues for people with mobility issues has been launched by a group of disabled people from Leicester.
The Access Rating App was unveiled in February by Jignesh Vaidya, Mark Esho and Richard Copson. It has around 500 users and has received more than 2,000 ratings so far.
Vaidya said: “After many evenings sharing our experiences, we had the perfect collective experience to help others locate accessible venues - such as our local pub - so we could get together for our weekly pint of beer. Our idea was to take the concept of the 'hygiene rating' commonly seen on many restaurants and create an 'access rating' to help reduce customers' anxieties.
“We wanted to provide a user-led app that enabled the community to have a voice so businesses could get real-time feedback on how they could improve accessibility.”
Users can download the app to their smart device and rate venues ranging from restaurants, bars, to hotels.
There are more than 13 million disabled people in the UK of whom 1.2 million are either permanent or temporary wheelchair users.
The spending power of disabled people and their household is estimated to be worth £249 billion and businesses are missing out on approximately £2 billion a month by ignoring the needs of disabled people, according to a survey by the Purple Pound.
As many as 75 per cent of disabled people and their families have walked away from a UK business because of poor accessibility or customer service, Vaidya said.
“The Access Rating App will provide a collation of access reviews from real users on more than 100,000 hotels, bars and restaurants in the UK, eventually expanding to the music and sports arenas. From the collation of this data on the app, we can educate businesses on the merits of inclusion and improving the accessibility of their venues. Users can submit disabled access reviews/ratings or search for accessible venues nearby using geolocation technology in a fast and user-friendly manner,” said Esho.
“Our audience is being built through our social media group. We have begun access awareness campaigns, social isolation initiatives and building strong relationships with the people all over the UK from all backgrounds within both the disabled and able-bodied community.”
The group aim to have 100,000 users and reviews on the app by the end of 2021.
Dharavi slum in Mumbai
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Man pleads not guilty to murder of BBC presenter's family
A 26-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering the wife and two daughters of BBC sports commentator John Hunt in a crossbow and knife attack.
Kyle Clifford, who also faces charges of rape, appeared via video link at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday.
Clifford, arrested in July after a manhunt, is charged with three counts of murder, one count each of rape and false imprisonment, and two counts of possessing offensive weapons – a 10-inch knife and a crossbow.
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session.
He is expected to enter a plea for that charge at a later date.
The victims were Carol Hunt, 61, wife of horseracing commentator John Hunt, and their daughters Louise, 25, and Hannah, 28.
An earlier hearing revealed that Louise had been found tied up and that both she and her sister had been shot with a crossbow, while their mother had been stabbed with a knife.
The fatal attack occurred at the family’s home in Bushey, a commuter town near Watford, northwest of London.
(With inputs from AFP)